Your website is a vital new business tool so it’s important to take stock of it every so often to ensure it is working as it should. No website will ever last forever due to constantly evolving designs and technologies and the need to keep pace. However making a decision on whether it’s time to invest in a refresh can be tricky and it is best to get expert advice from experienced web designers such as the team here at Fluid Digital.
In the meantime we’ve put together our list of the key signs that it’s time to service your website so that your company continues to flourish.
1. Traffic has dropped
Perhaps the most obvious sign is if the number of visitors to your site is declining. When this happens it is a worrying indication that something is deterring regular visitors from coming back. It’s important to review your visitor statistics through Google Analytics, which is a free tool and is something we at Fluid Digital can help you with. Perhaps the design and content is out of date and visitors just aren’t engaging with your site anymore. Whatever the reason it’s important that you speak to your web agency and ask them to give the site a health check. It can probably be put right with a bit of TLC.
2. Your site isn’t mobile friendly
As discussed in previous blog posts visits to websites done on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are growing exponentially. If your site displays poorly on a mobile device and is difficult to navigate using touch screen then you’re likely to lose traffic as a result. Having a responsive site developed that stretches or shrinks to fit a mobile or desktop screen is one of the best ways to deal with the game-changer that is mobile. The team at Fluid Digital can give you advice on if this would work for your site so feel free to come in and speak to us about it.
3. It takes a long time to load and there’s obsolete functions
If your site takes a long time to load then you run the serious risk of people bouncing straight off it. With today’s quick and efficient technology people simply aren’t prepared to wait a few seconds for a website to load. It could be that there are graphics and functions on there that aren’t needed anymore but take more bandwidth to download, making it frustratingly slow for any visitors on slower bandwidths. A good web agency will be able to quickly spot anything that could be causing a problem and help you to make your site faster
4. Visitors aren’t exploring further than your home page
Visitors are checking out your home page but aren’t venturing any further, sound familiar? Well that’s a clear indication that it needs refreshing to draw people in. If you’re not even sure what your visitor’s movements are then it really is time you checked out your Google Analytics stats. They will give you insight into what’s working and what’s not and enable you and your web agency to put things right. It may just be a case of making some simple tweaks to your home page with some new text and a sleeker layout.
5. You don’t appear in search results
If you’re website ranks poorly in the search engines, particularly Google, for phrases that are key to the products and services you offer then it could hint at a problem with your site. While some search terms will be more competitive than others ensuring your site is optimised, has a constant flow of fresh, original content and is regularly updated can greatly improve search engine results. The team at Fluid Digital can provide expert advice on what changes might be needed to your website to improve its Google rankings but ultimately all websites require constant work in today’s market and their owners need to be prepared to pitch in.